Hero's Soul Master's Sword
by GamerTacticsInc
Summary: In a corrupted world, few choose a path of light. Many love, but few cruelly know love's meaning. A young boy will learn the meaning of family, friendship, and love in an adventure that will take him around the globe. And, he'll learn these lessons in one place; The Stage of History. On Hiatus of Indefinite Length
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: This idea has been slowly festering inside me for a great while. I don't have much say about this one, just that it's an idea I had and developed over the course of a couple months. So, let's hope I can get the words to comply with me. I wasn't entirely sure how to rate this fic. All the characters are from the Soul Calibur series, but Link appeared as a guest character in Soul Calibur 2. So, I've decided to maximize it's possibility of being seen by simply marking it as a Legend of Zelda crossover, but this may be changed in the future. If so, know that the fic will not be changed, just its crossover identity. You will still be able to find it under the same name on the Soul Calibur section.**_

_**-GamerTacticsInc**_

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Chapter 1: Prologue

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Amongst the trees and plains of Hyrule Field rode a lone figure. Young and small, the person, atop an equally young mare, approached the gates of Castle Town; which was Hyrule's grandest and largest city. This figure went by many names; Fairy Boy, Grasshopper, No-Fairy… but, his true name was Link.

Though he was young, the boy was especially skillful with a blade. He had battled monsters of tremendous proportions and conquered them. These skills are what brought him into his first expedition across his known world and homeland of Hyrule to save the kingdom from an evil tyrant.

This man, who sought to bring the mighty and powerful kingdom to its knees was known simply as Ganondorf. He was the leader of the tribe of desert-dwelling thieves; the Gerudo. He came into the land, seeking an alliance with Hyrule's monarchy, but in reality plotted to see the kingdom crushed under his boot.

Had it not been for the young princess of Hyrule, Zelda, he would have succeeded. She sent Link and his fairy-friend, Navi, on a journey to retrieve each of Hyrule's races' spiritual stones of power. These sparkling gems were the key to unlocking the Door of Time which was located inside the Temple of Time. Within the temple was a magnificent blade of immense power. The Master Sword was known far and wide as a legendary weapon and as the key to the Sacred Realm where the Triforce lay. Link, believing he could defeat Ganondorf with such a blade, took up the sword, drawing it from its slumber on its pedestal before being cast into a seven year sleep. Unfortunately, the removal of the key led Ganondorf to the Triforce; the golden power that the man had plotted to use to fall the kingdom and conquer it.

The man had taken hold of the intense power, but found himself unable to wield its full might, as only those balanced in all three aspects of the golden triangles could do so. Instead, the man received only the Triforce of Power. Though, that may be stating it as if it weren't an issue.

Even this single piece of the Triforce was enough for Ganondorf to shake the foundation of the Kingdom of Hyrule and bring down its monarchy, driving the land into a chaos unseen since the Great War. The wicked man raised an army of fiendish monsters, each cruel and uncaring about the suffering of the Hylians they were slaying.

These beasts roamed Hyrule, removing all from their path with sheer force. The seven sages of Hyrule retreated to their respective temples. Though, they did not know they were doing their duties; each being completely unaware of their sagehood. Each one attempted to defeat the monsters located inside, but were ultimately rendered useless until their sage powers were revealed to them.

This went on until the seventh year, when Link awoke from his deep slumber and set off to once again thwart this madman's plans. he traveled to each of Hyrule's ancient temples, collecting a multitude of useful items along the way. He used skills granted to him through his hardships of combat to defeat the monsters lurking within theses temples. Guided by the mysterious Sheik, he rescued each of the sages and awoke their powers. Saria, Sage Of the Forest. Ruto, Sage of Water. Darunia, Sage of Fire. Nabooru, Sage of Spirit. And Impa, Sage of Shadow.

These people, along with Rauru, Sage of Light, made up six of the seven sages of Hyrule. The seventh was still missing however, and as Link returned to the Temple of Time to seek out Rauru's guidance, she revealed herself to him. Sheik, his guide, stood before him and revealed that he was actually Zelda, the princess of Hyrule, and the very same woman that had sent a ten year old boy on a life-changing journey through his country, and that she was the seventh sage.

Easy enough to say that Link was shocked. But, he had to quickly shake off the feeling, as within moments of Zelda revealing herself, she was captured by Ganondorf. Link rushed to the wicked man's dwelling; a giant tower floating above a massive lava-filled crater. Though the evil palace was previously unreachable, the sages used their immense power to build Link a bridge.

Once inside, Link discovered that Ganondorf had begun to weaken the sages' powers through magical orbs that drew upon Hyrule's lifestream. Link destroyed these spheres of evil and ventured deeper into the wicked building.

Finally, Link faced Ganondorf in combat, the two battling in various ways. But, Link brought the wicked man down. He rescued Zelda from the tower, which was now falling apart beneath their feet. But, all was not said and done.

Ganondorf rose from the rubble as the pig-beast known as Ganon. Once again, he and Link did battle, and Link emerged victorious. The sages sealed him in the Sacred Realm and Hyrule rejoiced and everyone was happy… everyone but Link himself.

Zelda had thought it best to send him back in time to make up the years he lost. This left Link, ten years of age once more, with knowledge of a great tragedy to befall Hyrule. The boy informed the now-oblivious Zelda about Ganondorf's reign, and she instructed him to venture out to hide away the spiritual stones, rather than retrieve them. Link did so, leaving Ganondorf without stepping stone to begin his road of tyranny. After a short while, Ganondorf's intentions were discovered, and he was executed.

Link was praised as a hero in his homeland, but after all was done, Navi disappeared, leaving without a word of where she was going. Link, heartbroken and lonely, set out to find his long-time companion.

This is what brought him to his second journey through Termina, a land that seemed to be hidden away from the rest of the world. While there, Link was given a three day time limit to bring down the evil in the land. Link did so through the use of The Song of Time, which Zelda had taught him again before he left Hyrule. The song had the mysterious power to change the way time flowed, whether it be backwards or forwards, slow or fast.

Link rescued the land in his time limit, defeating the demon, Majora, and stopping the kingdom from being crushed by the moon. He brought the evil being to its knees and slayed it.

By the end of this experience, young Link was a skilled and wise warrior. His blade was deadly, his skill allowing it to move like a snake around one's defenses and bite into their flesh. He had mastered the deadly dance of swordplay in many different styles.

Hylian Style, Gerudo Style, Holodrum Style, and Terminal Style, each one greatly different, each one extremely deadly.

It was this great skill that brought him into the predicament he's in now.

After he returned from Termina, Zelda enlisted him to help her and her father with anything they requested of him. Earlier that week, Link had been summoned to the castle and was given the task to seek out the sudden large source of evil energy that was coming from Death Mountain.

However, when he arrived in Kakariko Village, fires had engulfed a large part of the settlement. In the center of the chaos, was a single man, dressed in a long cloak. He played with the magical fires within his hands momentarily before setting his sights on Link.

His lips drew into an evil smirk and he made an attempt to blast Link with a tornado of fire. The young boy dodged skillfully and drew his Gilded Sword; one of the items he had received while in Termina. He rushed at the wizard, dodging more blasts of flames. Within moments, the man had been shoved off his mortal coil.

Link had searched the man's pockets and pulled from them a large fragment of metal, pulsating with an eerie red light. The shard seemed to whisper to him in a soft, calming voice, attempting to have Link use its powers. But, the imprint that was left by the Triforce of Courage kept him from being corrupted.

Link had shoved the metal into his Kokiri bag, which held anything, despite its size, weight, or the amount of things already in the bag. Link rushed back to the castle on his horse, Epona. He rushed through Castle Town, rushing to bring the news of this issue to Zelda.

Past the bizarre and through the castle's gates. The guards swiftly opened gates and doors for the rushing adventurer. He rushed through the doors of the throne room, causing the solid oak portal to bang loudly.

"Your majesty! I have something you absolutely need to see!" Link yelled as he rushed into the room. He pulled the fragment from his bag, presenting it to his monarch. She observed it momentarily at first, then stared at the shard with a strong desire.

"Give it to me," she said softly.

Link stepped forward, placing the metal in her hand. She suddenly closed her fist tightly, causing the shard to cut into her flesh. She grinned wickedly, looking at Link. "Yes, this is the power… there must be more! Link, bring me the rest of these shards…"

The king, outraged, yelled at Link. "Pull that _thing_ from her hand!"

Link followed his orders, yanking the shard out of her hands and back into his bag. Zelda's eyes dulled, then she fell unconscious. The king watched as she slumped into her seat. "Link, you know what you must do…"

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_**A/N: Hey, guys. Guess who? Yup, me. I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter as much as I liked writing it.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Hey, guys! I have absolutely no clue what the general reaction for the first chapter will be, and I only post this chapter because I like this idea and don't like doing one-shots. Well, I guess that's all for now, thanks for any readers who really enjoy this fic.**_

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Chapter 2: White Wind

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"You're sure that there's a shard nearby?"

"One-hundred percent."

"Okay…"

The two speaking voices were both female, both young, and both annoyed. Though, their irritation spawned from different reasons. For the blonde-haired swordswoman in the white and blue dress, it was the long walk that had spawned her ire. For the younger girl, whose hair was tied into two large pigtails, the former girl's irritation was the cause for her own.

"But, we've been walking for hours," the blonde whined once again. "Are you _absolutely sure_ that we're heading in the right direction?"

"Yes, Cassandra, I'm sure!" growled the younger girl, crossing her arms and turning to face her elder.

Cassandra sighed. "Well, I guess your powers haven't been wrong yet, Talim…"

Talim nodded, her elbow-blades at her sides. She turned back to her prior direction, walking once again. The two had been following the wind, which Talim had claimed was carrying the stink of Soul Edge, which meant that a shard was in that direction.

Cassandra followed, though somewhat upset and annoyed still. She continued to bellyache along the way. Talim, however, never snapped at her. That just wasn't in her nature. Instead, she closed her eyes and continued to navigate in the direction of Soul Edge fragment.

They had been sent out alone by Sophitia, Cassandra's sister and leader of the White Wind, to find this piece of the sword, which was significantly weaker than other shards. It was probably small and useless, not even to give the wielder much in the way of power. Had it not been for Talim's ability to hear the wind, it was most likely to fall onto Nightmare's hands rather than theirs.

Cassandra hated the constant little tests that her sister would send her on. Simple, menial tasks that anyone with a bit of knowledge could do effectively. It was clear that, despite her training and skill, Sophitia was still hesitant to allow Cassandra to pursue the main sword dangers of it, as she had once before.

"You've only seen the sword at a fraction of its true power. You are not even remotely ready to face the true Soul Edge," her sister had said.

Cassandra, of course, disagreed with this point wholeheartedly. She thought that her skill surpassed those around her. True, she was better than most, but even Talim admitted Cassandra was a bit too rash to take on the forefront of the hunt for Soul Edge.

Cassandra whined once again, making it clear that her quiet, irritated complaining wouldn't cease any time soon. Talim, being the one who had to put up with it, did her best to block out the girl's peevish attitude. She took solace in the wind's constant whisperings to her, nudging her in the proper direction of the evil energy.

Winding through more and more trees, the girls' ire slowly growing, and their sources of irritation being a constant. It seemed that with each step, Cassandra's whining grew more insistent and Talim's patience, which the young girl had an abundance of, grew short.

"We're here," Talim finally muttered, drawing Cassandra out of her current situation of filing complaints with the ground about its solidity.

"Finally," the blonde sighed in relief. "Where's the shard?"

Talim looked around, seeing nothing. "I am… unsure…"

Cassandra groaned with irritation. "I thought that's what those powers were for!"

Talim crossed her arms defensively. "It's somewhere in this area. We just have to search a little."

Cassandra sluggishly went about searching through the foliage in an attempt to find the shard they had been searching for. They scoured the area for roughly twenty minutes to find the presence, but to no avail. No fragment anywhere.

At least, that's what they though until a twig nearby snapped. The two spun in that direction, readying their weapons. Cassandra drew her short sword while Talim prepared her elbow blades. The two readied themselves for any kind of attack, but the only thing that broke to uncanny silence of the forest was a soft, light groan.

"W-what was that?" Talim asked softly. The only reply was yet another groan. "The stink of Soul Edge is strong… perhaps someone claimed the fragment?"

Cassandra held her shield up, facing the patch of thick foliage from which the groan had been emitted. "Let's check," she said stepping towards the bushes and bushing the leaves aside.

"What is…"

"Xianghua, do you think we should retrieve them?"

"You worry too much, Sophitia," came the reply of the Chinese woman, who was working beside her.

The two had been fanning through separate requests to join their group, whether it be through knocking on Sophitia's door or sending her an abundance of letters, which would never receive a reply. But, after one young man or woman was denied, three more showed up to try and take their place. it was quickly drawing on the Athenian girl's nerves, and she hoped to soon be rid of the issue.

Many would seek Soul edge for their own selfish desires; whether it be to claim it for their own, use it for their country, or use it to avenge someone lost to it. There were few who wished the eradication of the blade, but those few either weren't skilled enough in order to take on the challenges that Soul Edge would pose or simply weren't White Wind material. Those who weren't "White Wind material" were not ruled out for gender, race, or any irrational reason like that. Instead, their intelligence is what the deciding factor in the selection of warriors was.

Intelligence is what White Wind sought. One who could hold their own, survive in the world. Those with intelligence would be able to do such things, while an unintelligent warrior would be unable to attack with tact. Instead, many of them would rush into a battle without any clue or preformed thought. This almost always ended in an untimely death.

White Wind didn't need that on their plate. They didn't need an unconfident or unintelligent warrior's death on their hand. Sophitia didn't want that, Xianghua didn't want that, none of the members of the group wanted that.

"It seems as quantity increases, quality drops," Xianghua sighed. She dropped the parchment in her hand, leaning back in the chair she was seated in.

"Unfortunately," Sophitia responds. There was no desire for any extent of conversation between them, instead of focusing on meagre conversing, Sophitia's mind drifted to Talim and her sister. She had sent the two after a weak piece of Soul Edge located in Turkey. They should have been back by now. Even without the use of the main roads which were built to make travel in the country quicker, it would only take, at the most, a week to get two and from the destination. Talim had assured the elder Alexander sister that the shard was no more than ninety miles away.

"...phitia... "Xianghua's rather irritated voice broke Sophitia's reverie. The blonde-headed Greek woman turned to her friend.

"Ah, yes?" she sheepishly inquired.

Xianghua sighed heavily, shaking her head with faux disappointment.

"I asked why your gaze is so distant. What's on your mind?" Xianghua repeated herself.

"Ah, I was just thinking about Talim and my sister. They should have been back by last night."

Xianghua mulled over the situation momentarily. "I wouldn't worry about them. Talim and your sister are both greatly capable warriors."

Though, even with the encouragement of one of her most trusted allies and closest friends, the Athenian warrior couldn't help but worry about the wellbeing of the two girls she had sent out. She wondered where they were, what they were doing, and what could have happened to cause their tardiness. Though, Sophitia's much need distraction came in the form of her two squabbling children.

The two tiny kids came running down the steps, her son before her daughter, complaining of something or the other. It was some issue with Patroklos messing with Pyrrha's hair. The young girl was rather protective of the golden locks which she inherited from her mother. Patroklos instead took on his father's dirty blonde hair, but was much less protective over the follicles.

Sophitia couldn't help but smile at the antics of the two. She picked Patroklos up, holding him above the assaulting Pyrrha. Sophitia then patted the young girl's head. "Pyrrha, be nice to your brother. He's the only one you've got," she chuckled.

The young girl in question sighed, folding her arms. "But, my hair…"

"It's still there, isn't it?" the mother asked, setting her son back on the ground, where he took off into the bakery portion of the house.

Pyrrha resisted her urge to give chase, and instead turned back to the stairs, rushing up the treads and into her and Patroklos' shared room.

Pyrrha seemed to have an innocence that Sophitia hoped wouldn't even be spoiled. At least, she hoped so.

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_**A/N: Hey, guys. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm trying not to make them too short, and I promise they'll be longer in the future. I'm personally enjoying this fic, and will be posting new chapters as soon as possible.**_

_**GTI out.**_


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